DENVER — A man on Colorado's list of most wanted sex offenders was apprehended by authorities in California on Monday.
Jaime Soto, 43, was listed as No. 7 on the Colorado Bureau of Investigation's (CBI) Top 10 Most Wanted Sex Offenders list, according to the U.S. Marshals Service.
Soto was wanted by the CBI and Thornton Police Department for charges stemming from a February 2021 conviction of attempted sexual assault on a child and second-degree assault, in addition to a December 2007 conviction of contributing to the delinquency of a minor. In addition, he had an arrest warrant out of Denver for failing to register as a sex offender.
On Dec. 28, the Thornton Police Department passed apprehension authority for Soto over to a CBI task force officer with the U.S. Marshals’ Colorado Violent Offender Task Force (COVOTF) in Denver. COVOTF targets the most violent offenders in the state who are wanted for crimes such as murder, assault, sex offenses and more.
That task force officer was able to learn that Soto had likely fled the state and was around North Las Vegas in Nevada, according to the U.S. Marshals Service.
About a week later, the U.S. Marshals’ Nevada Violent Offender Task Force (NVOTF) became involved in the investigation.
On Jan. 8, the NVOTF team spotted a vehicle associated with Soto's girlfriend. They followed her to a possible address and while surveilling the residence, saw the girlfriend, a child and a man leave and head out of town. The team followed the vehicle southbound on Interstate 25 as they traveled into California.
In Baker, California, the driver stopped at a gas station. The NVOTF team confirmed the man in the car was Soto and he was apprehended with help from officers with the California Highway Patrol, according to the U.S. Marshals Service.
Soto was booked with the San Bernadino County Sheriff’s Department and is currently at their West Valley Detention Center in Rancho Cucamonga. He is waiting for extradition back to Colorado, according to U.S. Marshals.
CBI's Top 10 Most Wanted List is available here.
